Shades of Cool
by wherestessah
Summary: The year is 1977. The Wizarding World is on the brink of war, but within the walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, teen angst rules. James Potter finds himself falling in love, Remus Lupin discovers his life will never be as he wants it, Peter Pettigrew is redrawing his battle lines, and Sirius Black... Well.
1. Odd

Sirius Black knew the moment he stepped from the train to the platform that something in the air had changed. A tangible sense of unceratinty hung thick with the fog. He almost began to feel sick, a small knot hardening in his stomach, when a sudden shove to the shoulder knocked him from his daze.

"Come off it, Padfoot!"

The smoke seemed to clear with this, and he felt momentarily lighter. He grinned sheepishly at his attacker, who now stood to his side with his hands in his pockets.

James Potter's face was sunburnt. He had grown another two inches, but his hunched shoulders made their height even. The untameable disaster that was his hair simultaneously stood up and laid over his eyes, which were framed by broken spectacles. As James Potter was his best friend (alongside him having spent his summer living at the Potter's house), his presence was more than familiar.

"Have you seen Moony?"

He'd hardly opened his mouth to respond when the boy in question stepped off the train and appeared beside them, a stack of books under his arm.

"Bit of light reading?" James quipped cheerily as he scanned the platform.

"Trying to regrow some of the brain cells I lost with you prats this summer."

What Remus Lupin lacked in tradtional cool points he supplemented with well executed and calmly delivered insults, which greatly amused Sirius and James, who both sniggered at this comment.

Sensing that somewhere his friends were laughing without him, Peter Pettigrew scampered across the few feet alienating him to join them. Sirius grinned and clapped a hand to his shoulder. The tension he'd felt just moments before entirely disappeared and was replaced with shallow excitement.

The year was 1977. It would be their last year at Hogwarts, and he had every intention of going out with a bang.

"Did you see Marlene McKinnon's skirt?" Peter whispered as they started towards the carriages that would bring them to the school. James's eyebrows creased, eyes narrowing subsequently. "Think she chopped a bit off..."

"Are you mad?"

James's voice startled him, sending him to cower slightly behind Remus. Sirius smirked, his eyes on path beneath them.

"Marlene McKinnon is off limits," he continued. "She's family."

The McKinnons had lived over the hill from the Potters for more than a decade. They were affluent, Pureblood, and rather good friends. That being said, Marlene held the distinction of being an honorary Marauder, which made any form of romantic interest in her inappropriate and incestual.

The main issue with Pureblood purity, at least in Sirius's humble opinion, was that every family was in some way related, sometimes more than once. There were certain traits each family carried for generations that distinguished them, making their status known. Like the red hair possessed by the Weasleys, the Potter's lanky build and knack for Quidditch, the Black's sense of superiority paired with storm grey eyes. This made the tidal wave of platinum blonde hair striding up to them all the more recognizable.

There were three McKinnon sisters, each more beautiful than the last. Marlene, being the youngest, had easily won the genetic lottery. She casually slid between James and Remus, flipping her hair over her shoulder and linking her arms through theirs. The McKinnons were blonde, bright, and slightly arrogant. They were also, quite like the Potters, some of the biggest blood traitors the Pureblood line had ever known.

Sirius had heard several times from his beloved mother that the McKinnons and the Potters were an abomination to their blood, how they had betrayed and defied their ancestors. She would typically bring this up as she watched him pack his Gryffindor robes into his school trunk, which now sat comfortably in a scarlet and gold clad dormitory.

"Boys," she said by way of greeting.

"Care to ride with us, darling?" James drawled with a hint of sarcasm, though there was a small twinkle in his eye. It was no secret how fond James was of Marlene. She'd been the sister he'd begged his parents for and never recieved.

"I'm off to find the girls," she yawned, reaching up to stretch her arms. "Just dropping in to say hello. We'll talk inside."

With a quick kiss to his cheek, she started up the path ahead of them. Peter felt his eyes drop to her hemline, which had mysteriously raised itself to just below her peach of an a... brbr

"Peter! Eyes!"

"Sorry!"

The Great Hall was bustling with activity between students trying to find their seats and the incessent chatter of friends who'd spent the summer apart. Sirius sat near the end of Gryffindor's table attempting to ignore the headache forming just above his left eye, further perpetuated by the shrieks of third year girls reuniting. As if she'd never left, Marlene McKinnon slid into the open seat next to him. He nodded briefly in her direction without moving his eyes from the staff table, where he had noticed the headmaster's chair was empty.

"Dearest Marlene," James sighed. "How I've missed you."

"Likewise."

"Shall we discuss Quidditch tryouts?"

She grimaced. "Did you mean, shall we discuss assisted suicide?"

"Slim prosepcts this year."

"Choose wisely _**Captain**_."

"Try not to be so bitter," Remus smiled. Marlene rolled her ocean eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. With a laugh, James tossed an arm over her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Come on, Mar. No hard feelings..."

When the news that James had been appointed captain of their Quidditch team arrived by owl over the summer, Marlene had locked herself in her bedroom for two days. James had eventually coaxed her out with the promise of a co-captaining position, which would do, but was not what she wanted.

"Where's Dumbledore gone?"

Sirius's question distracted them enough to redirect their attention to the staff tabe.

"Odd," Peter frowned. "He never misses the sorting."

James gave Sirius a look that said very clearly he intended to find out where their headmaster had vanished to, and he nodded to confirm his assistance. Less than an hour into their seventh year and they were on a mission. Remus caught this exchange and felt a very familiar dread in his stomach.

"Already?" he groaned, his tone exhausted.

Sirius did not remove his eyes from Dumbledore's empty chair. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"We're just here to enjoy the feast," said James, just as distractedly.

"And the first years."

Remus snorted at this. "Aren't first years a tad young, Padfoot?"

"Age is only a number..."

"And Azkaban is only a room."

This came from Marlene, which broke his stare. He turned to acknowledge this, which was the first thing she'd said to him since a certain August night in James's backyard they had agreed not to speak of. Their eyes met and immediately refocsued on anything else.

"I've got to find the girls," she said suddenly, pushing up from the Marauders exclusive portion of the table.

"Didn't you find them an hour ago?" Sirius drawled. She promptly ignored him as a small firework lit in James's eye.

"Remind Evans we have rounds tonight," he told her in a way that screamed "forced restraint". She caught this immediately and responded with another roll of her eyes.

"Will do, Captain."

And with that, she started down the aisle away from them. James began to involve Peter and Remus in a hushed conversation about Lily Evans, his favorite topic other than pranking and Quidditch, while the doors to the Great Hall opened and a sea of first years entered. As the Hall quieted for the sorting to begin, Sirius found himself distracted yet again, this time by that all too familiar platinum blonde hair.

At the opposite end of the table, Dorcas Meadows was immersed in Witch Weekly. She lifted her eyes only when Marlene dropped into the spot next to her with a dramatic sigh and a sour expression.

"What now?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, come off it."

"I said it's nothing."

Lily Evans, who sat across from her, leaned into the table. "It's never really nothing, is it?"

Lily, beautiful Lily, who had been her best friend from the moment she'd taken the seat next to her in Potions their first year, could read her lies in an instant.

"James would like to remind you of your rounds later."

"How could I forget," she said dryly. "Two hours patrolling the castle with James Potter, it's all I've ever wanted..."

"I think it'll be fun," Marlene grinned. "You can finally practice some of those defensive spells you've been studying."

Lily laughed as she ran a hand through her hair. "I suppose he's disappointed his Head Boy duties will distract him from his usual first night festivites."

Mary McDonald turned her attention from the sorting at this.

"Does this mean there won't be a party tonight?"

"I'm sure Black will take care of that in his absence," Marlene scoffed.

"He looks different, doesn't he?" Mary wondered thoughtfuly, gaze drifting towards the end of the table. Lily watched Marlene stiffen with this.

"Who, Sirius Black?"

The Great Hall soared with sudden applause at the conclusion of the sorting. The girls joined in mechanically. They paused their conversation to turn fully to the staff table for Dumbledore's annual speech, only to realize that Professor McGonagall stood in his place. Marlene's eyes narrowed as she glanced over at Lily.

"... Odd."


	2. Faith

There was a brief moment when the students rose to retire after dinner that involved the unwanted eye contact of Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon. She had just finished straightening her skirt. The pleats had somewhow tucked into her tights, and she'd tugged them loose upon standing. He'd caught her smoothing a hand over her upper thigh and found himself slightly intrigued, enough so that he quickly glanced upward to her lips and eventually her eyes, which were the same color as the deep end of the lake at the edge of the Potter's property...

She happened to catch him in the act, furiously resisting the urge to blush.

"McKinnon!"

Turning slightly, she forced a small smile at the sight of Amos Diggery. Hufflepuff Head Boy, Quidditch captain, and general favorite of their professors, Amos had charmed his way into her good graces two years prior. Though he'd given her her first real kiss (underneath the enchated mistletoe in the Great Hall), they had never offically acknowledged their relationship. It was widely assumed that they were "together", whatever that happened to mean. Nobody, including them, had questioned it.

This did not seem to concern Sirius as he drank her in. Amos snaked an arm around her waist before he tore his eyes from her.

His stare wasn't unnoticed. Remus threw him a questioning sort of grin, which he promptly ignored. Instead he turned to James, who was searching the faces rushing around him for the delicate features of a certain flame-haired Head Girl. All thought of Marlene McKinnon's skirt vainshed with the realization that for the first time in seven years, James would not join him on the walk to the common room. He opened his mouth to address this when he was again distracted, this time by a very attractive brunette.

Emmeline Vance slunk into the empty space that James had occupied moments before with an easy smirk. Her eyes darkened as they met his.

"Sirius Black," she said coyly, tilting her head to the side. He bit down on his lip. "Fancy a walk around the grounds?"

He knew precisely what that entailed and would admit he thoroughly enjoyed his late night walks with Emme. They typically involved a lot of stops into dark patches under trees, where she would lift her robes for him to confirm that she had nothing on underneath.

"Later," he near whispered, glancing over his shoulder to locate Remus and Peter. She raised an eyebrow.

"When's later?"

"I'll let you know."

With that, he turned away from her and started towards his friends, leaving her to stew in his uncertainty. He was aware he sometimes treated her with less respect than she deserved, but couldn't find a single reason to care. It didn't matter if he ignored or insulted her. He knew she would always find her way back.

He found Peter awkwardly wading in the group of people pushing through the doors of the hall and spilling out into the castle. Remus fell back in line with them as they were walking up the stairs, hopping over the vanishing steps in unison. They didn't acknowledge their missing fourth wheel until they were settled into their dormitory, opened trunks toppled over on their four poster beds.

"How... How're we going to do this without Prongs?"

Remus sighed as Sirius turned to Peter with his arms crossed.

"We're going to need you to step up this year, Wormy."

Peter's round face flushed red at the prospect of aiding his friends. He'd never been more to their plan than the scapegoat (when things went wrong). As Remus carefully refolded his Muggle clothes, he watched Sirius pull a piece of folded parchment from the inside pocket of his robes. He attempted to ignore the pull at his nerves. The likelihood of flawlessly executing their annual homecoming party in the common room without the aid of James was slim to none. Without his natural intelligence and easy charm, all they had to stand on was Remus's reputation. Peter was no good in high pressure situations, and Sirius seemed to be unclear on when it was appropriate to start getting violent or not.

It briefly occurred to him that maybe he should mention this and put a stop to the proceedings, but as he watched the light grow in Peter's eyes, he realized he would be a fool to try to take this moment of glory from his friend.

He would regret it immeidately.

As the clock in Gryffindor tower struck midnight, several things began to go horribly wrong.

Their plans always appeared flawless on paper. So long as everyone acted accordingly, there was no room for error. But it was a rare and beautiful thing when a scheme unfolded perfectly, and most of their meticulous planning was often wasted on the one person who couldn't manage their post.

They gave Peter Pettigrew one job.

He was to stand outside the portrait hole to the side of the Fat Lady. When he recieved "the signal", he was to give the password so his friends would have quick access to safety. Maybe he'd grown tired of waitnig, maybe didn't recognize the gold sparks at the end of the hall as familiar. Whatever the case, he ad abandoned his position by the time two breathless boys sprinted towards where he should have stood.

Peter was not yet aware that he hadn't made the first mistake.

"How did you manage to forget the _**bloody cloak**_-"

"Such language, Moony..."

The first boy rounding the corner of the corridor stopped suddenly, sending the second crashing into his back. As they collided they dropped their wands, causing showers of sparks to illuminate the otherwise pitch black hall. They fell silent. Tension rose quickly as they waited to see if their scene would get them discovered. When they were positive they were alone, they broke into furious whispers.

"I swear I had it in my pocket!"

"Obviously you were wrong."

Their bickering intensified as they hurried down the hall towards the Fat Lady, expecting to see Peter waiting to open the portrait hole. Upon realizing yet another thing had gone wrong, they froze. When things began to go wrong for the Marauders, they were only anticipated to get worse. Not only had Peter abandoned his post, the Fat Lady had gone off to visit another portrait. It is important to mention at this time that being locked out of the common room was the least of their concerns. Their robes just so happned to be stuffed with bottles of firewhisky they had (almost) effectively smuggled into Hogwarts. If they were caught, the consequences would be dire.

Really, it had all started well.

At around ten-thirty that night, Missers Moony and Padfoot crept out of their dormitory and started towards the secret underground passageway they knew led directly to the Hog's Head basement. Forgetting James's invisibility cloak (which was presumably still locked in his unopened trunk) quickly became their first mistake. Had he been there, that kind of rookie mistake would never have happened. Regardless, they were determined to see their tradition through. They'd been doing this for years; they were prepared to control any outcome. Or so they thought.

They concluded that they knew Hogwarts well enough to sneak into the passageway undisguised and undetected. And the map helped. Moony held it underneath the light of his wand, with Padfoot two steps ahead of him (wand raised). They seamlessly found their way into Hogsmeade underground and proceeded to borrow several bottles of the Hog's Head's finest firewhisky without asking.

About ten seconds short of celebrating their victory, the unmistakable mew of Mrs. Norris sounded somewhere behind them. Panicked, they immediately fled to Gryffindor tower, where they found that Peter had abandoned his post. With no idea as to when the Fat Lady would return, Moony quickly concluded that their discovery and ultimate detentions were inevitable. He sighed, leaning up against the wall beside her vacated portrait.

"Maybe someone'll come out," Padfoot offered hopefully.

"Sirius, honestly."

"Excuse me for having faith..."

"Where's Peter gone, anyway?"

"If I knew do you think we would be in this situation?"

"I'm gone for less than two hours and you lot are already turning on each other."

James Potter stood before them with a cocky half smirk, arms folded over his slightly loosened tie. Their jaws dropped collectively. Sirius felt a bottle slip from underneath his arm and caught it just before it revealed itself.

"I've found Peter and the Fat Lady will return shortly."

Remus stood up straight, dumbfounded. "How did..."

"Have faith," James shrugged.


End file.
